The number of people who died homeless in the UK reached a record 1,611 in 2024, figures from the Museum of the Homeless revealed.
The new figure represents a 9 percent increase from the previous year, with the majority of deaths linked to suicide or drugs, as substances such as spices and nitazines become increasingly lethal.
Matthew Turtle, director of the Museum of the Homeless, said the deaths “show how the homeless continue to suffer profound failure.”
Homelessness Minister Alison McGovern described the figures as “heartbreaking” and said the government was “accelerating efforts to tackle the root causes of homelessness”.
According to the Museum, the data was compiled from forensic reports, media coverage, family testimonies and Freedom of Information requests after the government stopped publishing official figures in 2022.
Tim Renshaw, chief executive of Project Archer, said: “It should come as no surprise that people are dying on our streets,” said Tim Renshaw, chief executive of Project Archer, a homeless charity in Sheffield.
“We have one of the worst systems in terms of making housing available to the poorest. We are seeing that homelessness is related to health factors: trauma, depression, anxiety. And we have increasing levels of poverty.”
The report shows that three-quarters of those who died were men, while eleven were children. Most deaths occurred in temporary or supported housing, with London recording the highest total number of cases.
(BBC)
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